GRANVILLE ISLAND

Granville Island is built on a sandbar that was first reclaimed in 1915 to become an industrial area. Nearly one million cubic yards (760,000 cubic metres) of fill was dredged from False Creek to create the island. The tenants served the forest, mining, construction, and shipping sectors, all operating their factories, plants, and sawmills from corrugated-tin buildings. When demand for these sectors declined in the post-war period, many tenants went out of business.

Granville Island was redeveloped in the 1970s by the federal government and is now owned by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The corrugated-tin buildings constructed for the factories, plans, and sawmills now house a large public market, a marina, craft studios, theatres, and a local brewery.

You can easily spend an entire day on the Island, wandering around the shops and watching the buskers. Our perfect day on the Island starts with brunch at Dockside Seafood Restaurant, followed by some grocery shopping in the Public Market and window shopping at Paper-Ya. No trip is complete without stopping by Lee's Donuts of Granville Island, also in the Public Market. And if you really want to laugh, we highly recommend the Vancouver TheatreSports League.